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Wilkes Scholars

About the Wilkes Scholars Program

The Wilkes Scholars Program (WSP) enables outstanding undergraduate students to explore pressing climate challenges facing our state, region, and planet through transformative research. Wilkes Scholars will work with a mentor to advance research related to the mission of the Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy — catalyzing innovative science and solutions to address climate change.

Wilkes Scholar applications are processed through the Office of Undergraduate Research via the UROP application. Students applying for Wilkes Funds through the UROP portal will be considered simultaneous for both programs, with preference given to Wilkes.   

For more information about the Wilkes Scholars Program, visit the website: https://wilkescenter.utah.edu/funding-opportunities/wilkes-scholars/ or Contact Kyla Welch at Kyla.welch@utah.edu

  • To be eligible to receive Wilkes Scholar Program this funding, applicants must:

    • Conduct research projects in the area of climate science and/or environmental studies. Examples of relevant research include, but are not limited to, drought and water issues, climate forecasting, air quality, climate policy, fire and climate extremes, and environment and human health.
    • Provide a tenure-line or career-line faculty contact who will submit a letter of support.
    • Be matriculated, degree seeking students at the University of Utah who have completed their first year of studies (sophomore+)

  • Summer 2026: Friday, March 6, 11:59pm

    Fall 2026: Friday, June 19, 11:59pm

  • Apply through the UROP application process: https://our.utah.edu/urop-how-to-apply/

    • Select "Yes" on the question that asks if you are "Interested in being a Wilkes Scholar?"

    If you are not awarded Wilkes Scholar funding, your application will still be considered for UROP funding if eligible.

Meet the Wilkes Scholars:

  • COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE + PLANNING

    Hyein Kim (Mentor: Divya Chandrasekhar) - Comparative Analysis of Wildfire Resilience Strategies in Utah and South Korea
    Evan Klansnic (Mentor: Alexandra Ponette-Gonzalez) - Protecting Residents From Extreme Heat & Pm2.5: A Western City Comparison To Inform Salt Lake City Practice
    Spencer Spader (Mentor: Joerg Ruegemer) - Cost and Performance Comparison of Residential Wall Assemblies in Utah’s Climate

    COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

    Camas Alexander (Mentor: Marc Calaf) - Effect of Environmental Conditions on the Efficiency of Rooftop Photovoltaic Solar Arrays
    Peter Wilhelm (Mentor: Zlatan Aksamija) - A Compact Model of Mobility in Organic Photovoltaics

    COLLEGE OF HEALTH

    Libby Robbins (Mentor: Jeff Rose) - PEUH Heat Study

    COLLEGE OF SCIENCE

    Isabella Calhoun (Mentor: Randall Irmis) -Modeling Responses of Dietary Functional Group Richness to Holocene Climatic Variation in the Bear River Basin, UT.
    Sydney Gardner (Mentor: Luiza Aparecido) - Exploring the Physiological Relatedness of Hybrid Oak Species Compared to Their Parents
    Harrison Letourneau (Mentor: John Lin) - Mobile Methane Analysis for Plume Detection and Classification in the Salt Lake Valley
    Chance Moran (Mentor: Jody Reimer) - Forecasting Biological Regimes of Great Salt Lake
    Pavan Vasa (Mentor: Suhas Eswarappa Prameela) - Machine Learning for Sustainable Manufacturing: Optimizing Cold Spray Deposition for Critical Energy Applications
    Isaac Wells (Mentor: Huiying Xu) - Age effects of Aspen sapwood percentage with relation to differing traits and climate variables
    Byron Wuollet (Mentor: Eleinis Avila-Lovera) - Variation in non-structural carbohydrates in rubber rabbitbrush in two contrasting UofU garden

    COLLEGE OF SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE

    Jack Giacomin (Mentor: Emma Layon) - Using Sediment Cores from Dollar Lake to Reconstruct the Paleoecology of Whitebark Pine and Mountain Pine Beetle Disturbance
    Hailey Howard (Mentor: Shane Macfarlan) - Cultural Investigation of Climate Impacts on Desert Biota in Baja California Sur, Mexico
    Kayleah Madsen (Mentor: Mitchell Power) - Climate Change and Hybridization: Bristlecone-Pinyon Pine Interactions in Utah
    Kamryn Mena (Mentor: Brian Codding) - Tracing Hydrological Transitions in the Bear River Basin: Insights from Freshwater Mollusks and Implications for Threatened Aquatic Fauna 
    Sae Obayashi (Mentor: Sara Grineski) - Differences in Air Pollution Health Risk Perceptions by Pollution Source and Demographic Factors in Salt Lake County
    Zack Rhoades (Mentor: Alex Norwood) -Analyzing δ18O and δ13C Isotope Data to Reconstruct an Ancient Climate System in the Cape Floristic Region, Southern Africa
    Bridget Voortmeyer (Mentor: Andrea Brunelle) - Late Holocene Vegetation Change in Range Creek Canyon, Utah: Investigating Cherry Meadows as an Agricultural Site
     

  • COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE + PLANNING

    Evan Klansnic (Alexandra Ponette-González) - Protecting Residents From Extreme Heat & Pm2.5: A Comparative Analysis of U.S. City Outreach, Behavior, and Urban Greening


    COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

    Peter Wilhelm (Zlatan Aksamija) - Modeling Organic Charge Transport Using a Modified Inorganic p-n Junction Simulation

    COLLEGE OF MINES & EARTH SCIENCES

    Christopher Johanson (Alyssa Stansfield) - Projected Changes in Tropical Cyclone Wind Speeds and Rainfall Using High-Resolution Climate Simulations
    Cal Johnson (Thomas Reichler) - Hotspots: The wildfire-windspeed connection in a changing climate over the Southwestern US
    Aspen Marshall (Jessica Haskins) - Summertime Air Quality Disparities in Salt Lake City
    Aditya Pandey (Brenda Bowen) - Assessing Climate Driven Erosional Risk in Exposed Reservoir Mud Deposits Using Soil Properties, Mineralogy and Geochemistry in Colorado River Tributaries, Utah, USA


    COLLEGE OF SCIENCE

    Harper Bigelow (Jonathan Wang) - Quantifying Woody Plant Encroachment Across the Western U.S.
    Lexi Bohman (Kate Ritterbush) - Chambered Nautilus: Quantifying Biomineralization Variance amid Climate Change
    Emily Dalley (Connor Bischak) - Tuning Phase Transitions in Two-Dimensional Perovskites for Thermal Energy Storage
    Jane Damstedt (Kasey Cole) - Archeological Insights into Native Ecology: Analyzing Osteological Remains with an Emphasis on Beavers to Inform Ecological Restoration Efforts
    Sydney Gardner (Luiza Aparecido) - Exploring the Physiological Relatedness of Hybrid Oak Species Compared to Their Parents
    Nathan Jackson (Connor Bischak) - Investigating blending effects in 2D Hybrid Perovskites for more efficient photovoltaic cells
    Dayton Keane (Bill Anderegg) - Using Dye Perfusion to Examine Xylem Function and Climate Stressors in Aspen Forests
    Kaylee Meyers (Austin Green) - Mammals on the Move: Spatiotemporal Response of Common US Mammals to Extreme Weather Events
    Ilinca Mocuta (Austin Green) - Investigating Effects of Fine Scale Air Quality Changes on Animal Behavior
    Chance Moran (Jody Reimer) - Forecasting Biological Regimes of Great Salt Lake
    Chloe Raymond (Bill Anderegg) - The effect of summer drought on seasonal leaf area dynamics and autumn phenology in aspen trees
    William Summa (Derek Mallia) - Developing a Forecast Tool for Fire-Initiated Thunderstorms


    COLLEGE OF SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE

    Izzy Akers (Shane Macfarlan) - Abandonment and Ecological Recovery in Baja California Sur
    Em Berkson (Thomas Kraft) - Comparative Morphometrics of living and extinct Hyaenids at Koobi Fora
    Carlos  Flores (Monika Lohani) - The Complex Vulnerability to Multiple Stressors Resulting from the Climate Change Crisis and solutions for the Great Salt Lake’s Frontline Communities.
    Hailey Howard (Shane Macfarlan) - Cultural Investigation of Climate Impacts on Desert Biota in Baja California Sur, Mexico
    Abigail Rupper (Andrew Linke) - Social and environmental predictors of emigration from Latin America to the US southern border
    Zvonimir Simic (Matthew Fry) - Using content analysis to assess news articles for dominant knowledge frames about urban trees

  • COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE + PLANNING

    Gavin Mclean (Shundana Yusaf) - Exploring the Potential of Ailanthus Altissima as a Zero-Waste Building Material

    COLLEGE OF MINES & EARTH SCIENCE

    Camryn Carr (Sara Warix) - Hydrologic Shifts from Climate Change: A Study of Two High Mountain Watersheds 
    Colby Estes (Tonie van Dam) - Comparison of GPS and GRACE/GRACE-FO Geodetic Observations with Hydrologic Observations in the Salt Lake Valley
    Ellis Forster (Sara War) - Using Drone-Based Remote Sensing and Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) to Analyze Vegetation Health and Stream Discharge in Wasatch Mountain Streams
    Megan Jones (Kate Allabush) - The Paper Nautilus: Differences of and Climate Implications for Argonauta Shells between Species a

    COLLEGE OF SCIENCE

    Kaitlyn Landers (Jody Reimer) - Determinants of Phalarope and Eared Grebe Numbers on Great Salt Lake
    Sydney Smith (Court Strong) - Impact of Clausius-Clapeyron Thresholds and Monsoon Patterns on Extreme Precipitation Events in the Salt Lake Region

  • COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

    Toby Armstrong (Heather Holmes) - Exceptional Event Demonstration Tool Development
    Anya Otterson (Ryan Johnson) - Assessing the efficacy of spatially continuous snow water equivalent mapping products employing machine learning

    COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES

    Jasmine Aguilar Lopez (Leandra Hernandez) - Atrapadxs en un Hoyo: Reproductive Justice and Environmental Health of Latina Mothers and Children in Salt Lake City Utah

    COLLEGE OF MINES & EARTH SCIENCES

    Preston Aiken (Gannet Hallar) - Forecasting Support for the 2025 Summer Ozone Study
    Lexi Bohman (Kate Ritterbush (Allabush)) - Chambered Nautilus: Fundamental Challenges with Biomineralization Alongside Climate Change
    Christopher Johanson (Alyssa Stansfield) - Exploring Changes in Tropical Cyclone Mean Rainfall Due to Climate Change
    Kyle Pope (Tonie van Dam) - Monitoring Seasonal Aquifer Storage Change in the Salt Lake Valley using Repeat Microgravity and GPS Measurements
    Madeline Sellers (Leif Anderson) - Updated Inventory of the Rock Glacier in the La Sal Mountains
    Nate Stovak (Thomas Reichler) - Predicting Monthly to Seasonal Southwestern United States Precipitation Anomalies

    COLLEGE OF SCIENCE

    Isabella Calhoun (Kasey Cole) - Using Taphonomic Analysis to Reveal Ecological Interactions and Depositional History at the Thundershower Cave Site
    Bennett Davenport (Kasey Cole) - Evaluating the Effects of Climate Change on the Feeding Ecology of Uinta Mountain Rodents
    Kierra Forthman (Connor Bischak) - Heavy Metal-Free Green Energy Storage Devices Operating in Water-Based Electrolytes
    Rylie Gagne (Jody Reimer) - Enhancing Models of Optimal Polar Bear Movement in the Arctic through Advanced Data Science and Image Processing
    Lamia Hajdarevic (William Anderegg) - Impacts of Wildfire on Xylem Anatomy in Four Tree Species Located in Southwest Colorado
    Gaby Karakcheyeva (William Anderegg) - Evaluating carbon isotope ratios in burned versus unburned trees during drought years
    Kaitlyn Landers (Jody Reimer) - Determinants of Phalarope Numbers on Great Salt Lake
    Lucy Leary (Jody Reimer) - The world in color: how different types of noise affect ecological transient dynamics
    Kaylee Meyers (Austin Green) - Long and Short Term Spatiotemporal Response of Common US Mammals  to Extreme Weather Events
    Ili Mocuta (Austin Green) - Investigating Effects of Fine Scale Air Quality Changes on Animal Behavior
    Nathan Murthy (Cagan H Sekercioglu) - Migration Path Analysis of Booted and Steppe Eagles in the African-Eurasian Flyway
    Sofia Perez (Connor Bischak) - Controlling Phase Transitions in Dialkylammonium Halide Salts for Green Energy Storage
    Brandt Winn (Luiza Aparecido) - Water Use of Native vs. Invasive Plants in Riparian Zones

    COLLEGE OF SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE

    Izabelle Chick (Juliet Carlisle) - Understanding the Interplay of Emotions, Risk Perception, and Climate Change: Towards Political Action and Policy Support
    Rachel Christensen (Mitchell Power) - Stomatal Density as a Proxy of Changing Atmospheric Conditions in Pinus longaeva: exploring responses in stomatal conductance
    Gracyn Hinojosa (Shane Macfarlan) - The Impact on Ranching Culture and Livestock Management in the Baja California Peninsula
    Chris Kennedy (Andrea Brunelle) - Historic Paleoclimate Reconstruction and Dating of West Desert/Dugway Site Through Sediment Core Analysis
    Natalia Lopez (Sara Grineski) - Resident Perspectives on Air Pollution and Environmental Injustice in Salt Lake County
    Julie Moyano (Shane Macfarlan) - Impacts of Drought and Economic Variability on Ranch Abandonment in Baja California Sur, Mexico.
    Melanie Osuna (Andrea Brunelle) - The Reconstruction of Fire History in the West Desert
    Sofia Price (Shane Macfarlan) - Drought Affectedness of Ranches in the Baja California Peninsula
    Jailyn Primero (Susana Velasquez-Franco) - Analyzing Past Ecological Disturbances to Understand The Response of Vegetation
    Alec Roberts (Monika Lohani) -  A Study of Identity and Behavior in Reaction to Critical Climate Change Information Utilizing Mobile Eye Tracking in a Museum Setting
    Maya Upton (Jennifer Watt) - Paleoecological History of the Bear River Massacre Site Through Pollen Analysis

  • Fall 2024

    COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

    Toby Armstrong (Mentor: Heather Holmes) - Advancing Wildfire Air Quality Management: Integrating TROPOMI Data for Enhanced Exceptional Event Reporting
    Kyler Pak (Mentor: Heather Holmes) - An Analysis on The Accuracy of Current Weather Forecast Models on Extreme Weather Events

    COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES

    Jasmine Aguilar Lopez (Mentor: Leandra Hernandez) - Atrapadxs en un Hoyo: Reproductive Justice and Environmental Health of Latina Mothers and Children in Salt Lake City Utah
    Eliana Massey (Mentor: Maile Arvin) - Food Sovereignty Possibilities for Pacific Islanders in Salt Lake City's West Side

    SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

    Jacob Sussman (Mentor: Katharine Walter) - Environmental niche model of Coccidioides presence using mammal distributions

    COLLEGE OF MINES AND EARTH SCIENCE

    Autumn Hartley (Mentor: Sarah Lambart) - The Cause of Excess Magmatism in the Northern Atlantic Margin
    Drew Hooker (Mentor: Gannet Hallar) - How Wildfire Smoke as an Exceptional Events affect Human Health
    Rae Noble (Mentor: Leif Anderson) - Cosmogenic 3He Surface Dating: Alpine Glaciers of Fish Lake Plateau and Boulder Mountain, Utah
    Kyle Pope (Mentor: Tonie van Dam) - Monitoring Seasonal Aquifer Storage Change in the Salt Lake Valley using Repeat Microgravity and GPS Measurements

    COLLEGE OF SCIENCE

    Jane Damstedt (Mentor: Kasey Cole) - Using Past Ecosystems to Understand Modern Climate Change: A Case Study from Utah’s House Mountain Range
    Bennett Davenport (Mentor: Kasey Cole) - Evaluating the Effects of Climate Change on the Body Size of Uinta Mountain Rodents
    Auriana Dunn (Mentor: Kasey Cole) - Comparing Historical and Modern Mammal Distribution at Bear River Basin: Has climate had an effect?
    Kierra Forthman (Mentor: Connor Bischak) - Heavy Metal-Free Green Energy Storage Devices Operating in Water-Based Electrolytes
    Rylie Gagne (Mentor: Jody Reimer) - Enhancing Models of Optimal Polar Bear Movement in the Arctic through Advanced Data Science and Image Processing
    Lucy Leary (Mentor: Jody Reimer) - The world in color: how different types of noise affect ecological transient dynamics
    Kathy Lin (Mentor: Jody Reimer) - The Dynamics of the Microbial Community within Sea Ice
    Delaney Miller (Mentor: Connor Bischak) - Organic Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductors for Green Energy Storage
    Ainsley Parkins (Mentor: Rodolfo Probst) - Unveiling Cryptic Avifauna Diversity Using Nanopore DNA Sequencing: A Case Study in the Passerine Genus Emberiza (Passeriformes: Emberizidae)
    Allie Perkins (Mentor: Talia Karasov) - Quaking Aspen Pathogen Defense in the Presence of Climate Change Related Drought
    Bitia Robles (Mentor: William Anderegg) - Evaluating the Impact of Discontinuing Carbon Credit Use and Its Effect on Corporate Emissions
    Nate Stovak (Mentor: Thomas Reichler) - Predicting Monthly to Seasonal Western U.S. Climate Anomalies
    Shaylee Whipple (Mentor: Kasey Cole) - Evaluating the Effect of Climate Change on Body Size of Animals in Owl Cave
    Brandt Winn (Mentor: Aparecido Luiza) - Water Use of Native vs. Invasive Plants in Riparian Zones

    COLLEGE OF SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE

    Rachel Christensen (Mentor: Mitchell Power) - Exploring responses in the stomatal conductance of conifers using stomatal density as a proxy through changing atmospheric conditions: an analysis using Pinus longaeva.
    Riley Cummings (Mentor: Shane Macfarlan) - Impact of Natural Disasters and Climate Shocks on Risk Perception in the Baja California Peninsula
    Gracyn Hinojosa (Mentor: Shane Macfarlan) - The Impact on Ranching Culture and Livestock Management in the Baja California Peninsula
    Natalia Lopez (Mentor: Sara Grineski) - Resident Perspectives on Air Pollution and Environmental Injustice in Salt Lake Countyv
    Celeste Maybell (Mentor: Tim Collins) - Shade, Urban Heat, and Public Transportation in Tucson, Arizona
    Julie Moyano (Mentor: Shane Macfarlan) - Impacts of Drought and Economic Variability on Ranch Abandonment in Baja California Sur, Mexico.
    Melanie Osuna (Mentor: Andrea Brunelle) - UROP Proposal Fall 2024
    Sofia Price (Mentor: Shane Macfarlan) - Distribution of Ranches in the Baja California Peninsula and Drought Affectedness
    Alec Roberts (Mentor: Monika Lohani) -  A Study of Identity and Behavior in Reaction to Critical Climate Change Information Utilizing Mobile Eye Tracking in a Museum Setting